Nvidia Geforce Now has a free Mac beta in Europe

PC Gaming on a Mac... well... kinda

Nvidia Geforce Now has a free Mac beta in Europe

Gaming on a Mac can be filled with problems, first, there is the fact that most PC games do not release on the platform an secondly that Macs are not designed for gaming, lacking the powerful hardware that is required to enable a high-quality PC gaming experience.

This is about to change thanks to Nvidia's Geforce Now service, which has now been brought to Europe and is currently available to Mac users free of charge while the service is in beta. This service moves gaming to the cloud, allowing Mac users to stream their games directly onto their PC from Nvidia's servers, bringing the Windows PC gaming experience to Mac users.

Those who use this service will be able to play games that they already own via Steam and other digital storefronts from the cloud, with the service already supporting over 100 different PC gaming titles (supported titles list here). The service also supports cloud saving, to allow users to continue playing their games on their own gaming PC if they wish.

During this free Beta period for Mac users, Nvidia will be updating their service to improve the streaming quality of the service while also reducing latency, which will be done by creating new datacenters across Europe and updating their software. A list of compatible devices is available to view here.

Nvidia has stated that this service gives users access to GTX 1080 levels of performance on a virtual PC, which should be more than adequate to provide a great PC gaming experience.

For years, there have been two issues trying to play games on a Mac: the systems aren’t powerful enough, and when they are, most top PC games aren’t available.

GeForce NOW solves both, turning your Mac into a virtual GeForce gaming PC. Games are rendered on Pascal-class GPUs in the cloud, so you get the performance of a GeForce GTX 1080. Since the heavy lifting is done in the cloud, you never have to wait for long downloads, updates or patches. Your virtual PC is always maintained, so you can start your gaming sessions in seconds.

The service has support for the hottest games from the biggest digital stores, with more being added regularly – many the same day they’re available on PC and consoles. Today’s most popular PC games, like PLAYERUNKNOWN’S BATTLEGROUND, are playable at max settings with smooth framerates.

There are over 100 supported games, meaning you’ll be playing on the latest updates with optimal playable settings. Not to mention, games that support cloud saves offer the ability to start playing on GeForce NOW, and continue playing where you left off on your local gaming rig. For a list of supported games, click here.

In addition to more games and digital stores, the GeForce NOW service receives regular updates. These include improving streaming quality, adding new data centers and lowering latency.

To join the free GeForce NOW beta, Mac owners simply register, download and install the GeForce NOW app and select their favourite Steam or Battle.net games that they already own. The install happens in seconds on your dedicated virtual GeForce NOW GeForce GTX 1080 PC. In most cases, you’ll be enjoying the latest PC games with high-quality visuals in under a minute – on your Mac!

And most Macs dating back to 2009, with macOS 10.10, meet the system requirements. A broadband connection of at least 25 Mbps is also required, with 50 Mbps recommended.

Geforce Now for Mac is a very different service to its Nvidia Shield counterpart, acting as a "PC on-Demand" service rather than a Netflix Style game streaming library. This service allows users to play games that they already own, with Geforce Now merely allowing users to sign into services like Steam and Origins through the service and from there play their desired game (provided it is supported by the service).

Right now the European version of the Mac Geforce Now App is only available in English, though other Native Language versions are in the works. A full FAQ for Nvidia's Geforce Now Service for Mac can be read here.

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